Cheese Gougére

 

I recently took a cooking class at a local country club, and this was one of the many fantastic recipes that was provided.  I had never tasted gougére before, but I immediately fell in love with them after the first bite.  Cheesy, moist inside, crispy outside, light, salty goodness.  The original recipe we had was actually made with Gruyere cheese, but when I made it at home there wasn't any in the house, so I used a mixture of Parmesan, Cheddar, and Mozzerella. I ended up liking my version even more.  Which is saying a lot because the Gruyere ones were incredible.  I recommend serving this with the Puree of Apple-Rutabaga Soup (found here).  The soup is also a recipe that the country club provided us with, and they paired the soup and the gougére together.  My family gobbled this up so fast...you have no idea.  Feel free to use whatever cheese you'd like, but I highly recommend my mixture.  Good quality cheese is best also.

Yield: about 15 Gougéres

Ingredients:
1 cup water
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pinch kosher salt
pinch of sugar
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
4 to 5 large eggs
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons grated mozzerella cheese
white pepper (optional)


Instructions:
1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2.  Mix together the cheeses, and set aside.
3.  In a medium saucepan, combine the water, butter, salt, and sugar and bring to a boil.  Add all the flour at once, reduce the heat to medium and stir with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes, or until the mixture forms a ball and the excess moisture has evaporated (if the ball forms more quickly, continue to cook and stir for a full 2 minutes).
4.  Transfer the mixture to a bowl beat with an electric mixer for about 30 seconds at medium speed to cool slightly.  Add 4 eggs one at a time and continue to mix until completely combined and the batter has a smooth, silky texture.  Stop the machine and lift up the beater to check the consistency of the batter.  The batter in the mixing bowl should form a peak with a tip that falls over. If it is too stiff, beat in the white of the remaining egg.  Check again and, if necessary, add the yolk.  Finally mix in 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture and adjust the seasoning with salt and white pepper. 
5.  Drop by tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets (you can use a pastry bag if desired), leaving about 2 inches between the gougéres as the mixture will spread during baking.  Sprinkle the top with about 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining grated cheese and bake for 7 to 8 minutes or until they puff and hold they're shape.  
6.  Reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes.  When the gougéres are done, they should be a light golden brown color.  When you break one open, it should be hollow, the inside should be cooked but still slightly moist.
7.  Remove the pans from the oven a serve the gougéres while hot.

Chicken Parmesan

This is the best chicken Parmesan ever.  I won't order it in restaurants because I never like any other nearly as much as this one.  My mom makes this every week, and it's always perfect.  I think the secret is that the chicken breasts are thick and juicy, instead of pounding them thin.  I hate when chicken Parmesan has breasts that are really breaded...and then the chicken is really thin.  It makes the breaded part way too overpowering and you can't taste the chicken as much.  In this recipe, every bite is a thick, juicy, full of flavor, cheesy chicken chunk slathered in tomato sauce. Mmm-Mmm!


Ingredients:
6 skinless chicken breasts - about 1 inch thick
Tomato (Spaghetti) Sauce
Shredded Mozzerella cheese
Italian seasoning 
3 cloves of crushed garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
Italian bread crumbs
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Your choice of pasta (I usually use penne, angel hair, spaghetti, or bow tie)


Instructions:
1. Cover chicken breasts with bread crumbs in a thin coat until evenly coated.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil and 3 cloves garlic in a large skillet.  Fry chicken breasts 2 minutes on each side.  Place on paper towels to remove excess liquid.
3.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4.  Place chicken breasts in a greased baking dish.  Pour spaghetti sauce on top of breasts, and coat evenly.  Sprinkle a generous amount of mozzarella cheese on top so it covers nearly all of breasts.  
5.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and add a generous amount of Parmesan cheese.  Cook for 5 more minutes (until cheese is completely melted).
6.  Remove from oven and let sit 5 minutes.
7. Cook pasta according to manufacture's instructions and serve chicken breasts over pasta.

Tomato Bruschetta

This is the absolute best bruschetta out there.  It makes me sad that I will never like any other bruschetta recipe because this one is so freaking good.  I didn't think that bruschetta could be all that great before I made it - I mean really...it's like salsa on bread, right??  But oh my goodness gracious: this is to-die-for.  I adapted this from a recipe on allrecipes found here.  This is my favorite non-dessert recipe on that site.  The only change I made was adding some parmesan cheese in place of mozzerella to give it even more flavor from the already enormous amount of flavor it had...but this totally isn't necessary.  It's superb even without any cheese.  I served this as an appetizer with pasta, but my family was so full from eating all this bruschetta that we didn't want much of the pasta.  My mom has been asking me every single weekend to make it.  The sun-dried tomatoes add a fantastic flavor that other bruschetta recipes just can't compete with. 

Yield: about 12 slices

Ingredients:

• 6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 French baguette
• 1 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven on broiler setting.
2. In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
4. Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
5. Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

Crustless Spinach Quiche

      Quiches have always been a favorite of mine.  Why? Because you can add anything to them!!  I've done so many variations with quiches.  Once, I even made muffin quiches and each one was different (one had ham, one had chicken, one had different vegetables or spices, etc).  This quiche is probably my favorite of all my experiments.  I really enjoy it with sharp white cheddar cheese and mushrooms as well.  I absolutely love spinach and white cheese (as opposed to orange cheeses I mean), and I do NOT like pie crust!  I've never liked any flaky pie crust...even on fruit pies and pumpkin pie.  I think it tastes so plain and weird.  So I created this crustless spinach quiche.  It's so easy and delicious... a perfect Sunday brunch.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 10 ounces fresh spinach, wilted and drained
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 1.5 cups shredded mozzerella cheese
• 1.5 cups shredded parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (or garlic salt, if you prefer)
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9 inch pie pan.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft. Stir in spinach and continue cooking until excess moisture has evaporated.
3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt and pepper. Add spinach mixture and stir to blend. Scoop into prepared pie pan.
4. Bake in preheated oven until eggs have set, about 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Pepper Honey Cedar Plank Salmon Pizza

            Salmon pizza?  Yeah, it’s a little unusual, but it’s good.  It’s really good. The secret is the sauce and the cedar planks. The sauce makes a delicious marinade for any grilled fish or chicken, especially salmon.  If you taste the sauce before it’s placed on the fish, it may taste pretty peppery from the cayenne, but the finished product is not too peppery.  It’s perfectly spiced.  This is my all time favorite salmon marinade and I really enjoyed it on these pizzas.  The cedar plank gives the salmon a huge load of smoky flavor…way better than just broiling it in the oven.  One thing I like about these pizzas is they’re very balanced between the salmon and the pizza crust.  Salmon is definitely a more heavy, rich, filling fish.  And these pizzas are less filling than normal pizza because they’re made on tortillas.  I’ve made tortilla pizzas in the oven many times, and I love it because it’s so easy and you can add whatever ingredients you want.

Yield: 6 personal pizzas

Ingredients:

2 (12 inch) untreated cedar planks

For the sauce:

¼ inch cup pineapple juice

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons white vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

¾ cup honey

¼ cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon paprika

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

For the pizzas:

6 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless salmon fillets

1 pinch salt and pepper to taste

1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1.5 cups shredded parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green pepper

6 whole wheat flour tortillas

Instructions:

1. Soak cedar planks in warm water 1-2 hours
2. Bring first 6 sauce ingredients to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and stir in remaining sauce ingredients.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has reduced to a syrupy consistency, about 15 minutes.  Set sauce aside.
3. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat.  Place planks on the grate.  They’re ready to cook when they start to smoke and crackle just a little.
4. Season the salmon with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper.  Place the fillets onto the smoking cedar planks and baste each fillet with a light coating of sauce.  Close lid of grill and cook salmon until just done in the center (about 15 minutes), basting about halfway through.  Remove salmon from grill.  Shred and pull it apart into bite-sized pieces.
5. In a small skillet, sauté onion and green pepper in oil until tender, about 6 minutes.  Place tortillas onto ungreased baking sheets.  Top with onion mixture, salmon, and cheeses.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
6. While pizza is cooking, return remaining sauce to a simmer to return to its liquid state.  Drizzle sauce over pizzas when done, cut into wedges, and serve.